Finding the right puppy

Some things you should know before looking for your Rottweiler puppy

After speaking with many potential puppy buyers over the years it is becoming very clear that there are a number of “Rottweiler Breeder’s” out there that are not acting in an Ethical and or Professional manner. This page is to help you with what you need to know and what kind of questions you should ask the “Breeder” that you contact while trying to find that perfect puppy.

First thing is firstWhen you are looking for your Rottweiler puppy, you need to take your time. Talk to many Breeders and ask many questions, after all the puppy your purchase will become a part of your life for the next 10 years or so. It is extremely important that you purchase a puppy from a Reputable Ethical Registered Breeder who will be there to give you the support and back up service throughout your pups’ life and one you feel that you can have a some kind of rapport with.

There will always be pups available throughout the year, there is no “breeding season’ when it comes to dogs. But not all Ethical Reputable Breeders will have pups available throughout the year. Ethical Reputable Breeders carefully plan their litters and you may have to wait a while for the right puppy to be born from the right Breeder.

BreedersWhen inquiring about a potential puppy, make note if the Breeder is a member of a State Breed Club, ie; Rottweiler Club of Victoria, Rottweiler Club of NSW, Northern Districts Rottweiler Club of NSW, Rottweiler Club of South Australia, Rottweiler Club of Queensland and West Coast Rottweiler Club. Members of a State Breed Club are bound to make sure their breeding dogs are on NRC(A) paperwork for eligibility of compliance in regards to HD, ED Eye, Mouth status guidelines under the State Breed Clubs. They should also be testing their breeding stock for JLPP. The State Breed Clubs have a much stricter ruling in regards to breeding acceptability then the Canine Councils. You as the potential purchaser can view these certificates, most Registered and Ethical Breeders supply a copy of the parents Health Certificates in the puppy folder. If a Breeder is NOT a a member of a State Breed Club then they may have a sound legimate reason for this and you should take that into consideration when making the important decision on which breeder you wish to purchase your puppy from.Please note; Just because a Breeder is a member of a State Breed Club it does NOT automatically make them a Reputable and Ethical Breeder.

To be clear, a Breeder cannot be a member of the National Rottweiler Council (Australia) or also known as NRC(A). The only members of the NRC(A) are the State Breed Clubs of which a Breeder can be a member of a State Breed Club only. Breeders advertising that they are members of the NRC(A) are stating false and misleading information.

You need to make sure that the “Breeder” you are dealing with is in fact a paid up financial member of the Canine Council in the state they reside in and or they are not on suspension for a breach of the rules and or regulations. If they are not a financial member and or suspended at the time then your puppy cannot be issued pedigree papers under their kennel name. You can ask to see their membership card but more importantly you should contact the Canine Council to make sure they are in fact a current financial member.

If the Breeder you are talking to wants you to quickly put down a deposit / holding fee because they are “selling quickly” or they only have a “couple left, don't miss out” then think long and hard. All puppies are cute, do not make a decision based purely on emotion, this is a long term investment. An Ethical Registered Breeder will ask you lots of questions and they will be assessing you to see if you are suitable for one of their pups. The Ethical breeder will not be in a hurry to grab your money; they want to know that you are a suitable owner of one of their pups and that you too have the future of the breed at heart and will make a great owner.

Sire and Dam
I see a lot of litters advertised as a litter due / pending but no mention of the Sire and Dam . Why hasn't the "Breeder" advised the Sire and Dam of the litter in their advertisement? If they haven't you should ask yourself why. Reputable Ethical Registered Breeders are proud to announce who the Sire and Dam of their litter is and they are also happy to advertise the Hip and Elbow scores of those parents. Advertisements that do not supply this information and websites that don't supply this information make me very suspicious.

Pedigree papers
You should view the female’s pedigree papers to make sure that the person you are dealing with owns the Dam of the litter you are inquiring about and not owned by a third party. "Breeders" posing as the "Breeder" of the litter you are inquiring about may not be the real "Breeder" of the litter. This seems to be happening a lot lately and sadly for those people that purchase a pup from these type of "Breeders" makes it near impossible to end up with the correct pedigree papers and at times pedigree papers have been issued for the puppy that clearly are not belonging to the pup because of the age difference.

Pedigree papers are required to be supplied with every puppy bred by a Registered ANKC Breeder, to not supply Australian National Kennel Council (ANKC) registration papers is a breach of the Code of Ethics and any Breeder who does not supply papers for a puppy should be reported to the State Canine Council for this breach. We have the Limited Registration and the Main Registration, the only difference between the two is that the Limited does not allow you to show and or register progeny from that dog. The cost to register a puppy is not that much with the State Canine Councils and all ANKC Registered Breeders are required by the Code of Ethics of their State Canine Council to register all pups and to supply papers, whether that be Mains or Limited. The only exception to this requirement is that you may have an agreement with the Breeder and this must all be in writing and noted at point of sale in a contract. I am hearing of “Breeders” quoting purchasers that they need to pay an extra fee of $1000 plus to obtain pedigree papers for the pup. This is NOT ethical and a clear breach of the Canine Council Code of Ethics. An Ethical Reputable Registered Breeder does not charge extra for papers, they automatically come with the pup.

Most Breeders will place their “Pet Puppies” on the Limited Register. It does not necessarily mean that you have a pup of lesser quality; it may just mean that the pup has been placed as a pet only and is not to be shown and or bred from. Many show quality puppies are living as Pet Only as finding a potential show home at the time was not possible and or the Breeder did not wish to sell their pups on the Main Register.

If you are looking for a Show / Breeding prospect then these pups must be on the Main Register and most Breeders will charge more for that puppy because that puppy must have no disqualifying faults at the time of purchase and the pup is showing the potential as a show / breeding prospect. Some Ethical Registered Breeders will offer you a written contract to outline this and may offer a replacement pup and or partial refund should the pup not for fill this potential. You need to confirm this with the Breeder you intend to purchase from prior to purchasing the pup if they offer a replacement / part refund / written guarantee.

An Ethical Breeder will sell their pups on a contract. The contract is there to protect the pup, the purchaser and the Breeder. It outlines what is covered and what is not, what will happen in the event that a “defect” that is noted arises. It also may state that at any time that you are unable to keep the pup / dog that the Breeder has a right to be notified, offered the pup / dog back and if not able to take the pup / dog back at that time then they have some input as to where the pup is homed to. A Breeder who cares about their pups where they place their pups will do this and have a written contract.

German Rottweilers
Essentially all Rottweilers are German. The breed got its name from a small town in Germany called Rottweil, all Rottweilers originated from a small group of Rottweilers found in this town. All Rottweilers born in Australia are Australian not German. Don’t be fooled by the “All German” sales pitch. Just because a pup has parents from Germany and or back in its pedigree does not mean that you will get a superior puppy. Fact is the Germans will only sell their best producing dogs for a lot of money and mostly after they have produced for their own kennels. If these "top" dogs are sold they are then sold for a lot more than most people would pay for a new car. There are a lot of kennels in Germany; many of the resulting pups are sold to different countries. Not all of the dogs produced are “superior” specimens of the breed and nor should they all be bred from. With the recent implementation and acceptance of the ADRK to allow semen to be taken from their breeding dogs we now can have access to some of the best German dogs by way of artificial insemination without having to buy the dog.

Ask why the Breeder has bred the litter
Breeding should only be to try and improve the breed and for no other reason. Most Ethical Registered Breeders breed for this purpose only and not to fill puppy orders. Ask how many litters a year does the Breeder have. Breeding more than 3 litters a year is in my opinion for no other reason but to fill puppy orders. In all fairness to raise a litter correctly with proper socialisation and stimuli requires a lot of time and dedication, it is a lot of hard work! To have many litters throughout the year indicates to me that the pups get limited time from the Breeder, which means limited socialisation and stimuli. The question needs to be asked - What about the Breeders other dogs? How much time is spent with them if that Breeder is having 8 plus litters a year? The Rottweiler is a very social dog, he wants to be with you and spend quality time with you, he does not wish to be left locked up in a dog run day after day after day! Just because a Breeder has lots of dogs and has bred many litters does not necessarily make them an Ethical Breeder.

Is the puppy shown in the picture, the puppy that is for sale?Is that photo the real puppy that is for sale, or is it another puppy. Recently I have noticed that certain "Breeders" are advertising pups for sale with a photo that they have used (stolen) from another Breeder, usually sourced via Face Book. The actual pup /s in the photo are usually from overseas kennels and most likely a European Country. They use these photos because they think they have less chance of being found out when they are used to advertise pups on the other side of the world. I personally know of a number of cases of Australian "Breeders" using photos of Australian bred pups, one case involved pictures of our puppies.

Why would a "Breeder" do this?

I think they use the photo in the hope that you the person looking for a pup likes the look of the pup advertised and this photo prompts you to call the "Breeder". What you end up seeing is a totally different pup to what was advertised. This is clearly deceitful advertising and this is the type of "Breeder" that you should stay clear of.
How do you know if that photo is real.
Ask the "Breeder" to send you more pictures of the pup for sale. You will soon work out if the pup advertised is in fact the one that is being offered for sale. "Breeders" who have to use others photos must have something to hide and or be worried about the lack of quality in their own pups. These people are clearly not trustworthy, they don't have the breed at heart, nor do they deserve any of your time or money!

These are some of the things that I feel every puppy buyer needs to be aware of, there are many more things to add, and over time I will add more. I hope this helps you in your search for that perfect Rottweiler puppy from an Ethical Registered Breeder who truly cares about the long-term welfare of this magnificent breed.